Nevin Varghese, RUID 140001196, Section 10

NOTE* Not being able to find any specific ties to Piagets theories, I used this website to gain
insight on Piagets theories regarding play.
http://departments.weber.edu/chfam/4990a/Theory&play.html
During a childs developmental period, they grow physically, emotionally, and mentally
as the years progress. Throughout this maturation, play provides a way for kids to express their
creativity in an environment where they can try, fail and try again. Piagets theory stresses that a
child is egocentric, as in focusing and knowing only their own feelings, thoughts, and reactions.
Play allows children to express their egocentrism in the midst of children who express their own
self-centered attitudes. Thus, when two children get into an argument that involves the
conflicting egocentric attitudes of both, the resolution of the problem can lead to the
development of a non-egocentric outlook. The movie, Lost Adventures of Childhood, shows a
basketball team, whose true ability to play creatively is hindered by the organized methods of
their coach. Without the presence of the coach or parents, the players exhibited a creative side
that was unseen when he were playing a competitive match where stress from the coaches,
parents and the audience quelled their ability to try new things while playing. Piaget would think
that this type of organized play prevents kids from thinking past their egocentric views. Kids can
only develop a non-egocentric attitude when they play with other kids and learn about differing
opinions. Their schemas regarding multiple perspectives can only change with free interaction
amongst students, one that isnt hampered by the strict rules of organized sports, like basketball.
Piaget would also believe that children need to play to take full advantage of assimilation,
the ability to change existing schemas to incorporate new information. This assimilation can also

be seen as escaping functional fixedness as well, since the imagination of a childs play can
expand their current schemas. For example, a child might see a water bottle with a hole on top
as a water gun. This creativity through play only serves to benefit the child. Children also
accommodate what they see to create new schemas to replace old ones. For example, playing
can help children to deal with reality through fantasy; a child might play doctor on an imaginary
patient after seeing a fellow relative die from a disease to cope with the death. This role playing
creates a new schema, in this case, regarding life and death. In the movie, the mother who
involved her daughter in too many activities, like hockey, soccer, and baseball, only hurts her
child. Her daughter cannot assimilate any new ideas generated by her own curiosity and
creativity due to the oppressive amount of organized sports that she plays. As such, her daughter
also cannot accommodate new schemas that she may discover. She is forced to play the game
that she is taught to play; there is no other exception to the rules of the game.
Piaget would be horrified to see the stressful lives of children these days; these children
are devoid of play and freedom in expressing themselves. This inability to play hinders the
childs development and only hurts them instead of helping them.